MTA Outdoor Championships 2015 - Oshawa

Host to this years MTA (Minor Track Association) Outdoor Championships was the Terry Kelly Field at the Oshawa Civic Centre. This marked Boardwalk RC's second year participating in the competition. In 2014 we sent 3 athletes to compete, this year Boardwalk sent 7 athletes to compete in 12 events. 

It was a great day results-wise, and a fun day as a team. We had perhaps our longest day at a track meet, as the rain made a few appearances and so did a few lightning strikes that put everything on hold for about an hour. The delay meant the cancellation of relay events later in the day, which luckily we had not entered. It also meant that Fiona would have to Racewalk as the last event of the day in a combined race with the senior boys 800m track event.

First a big congratulations goes out to our first time competitors Evangeline Cowie (Senior Girls 200m and 400m) and Thomas Stewart (Atom Boys 200mH and Long Jump), who made their competitive club debuts. It can be a bit nerve racking to toe the line for the first time, but as a coach I'm extremely proud of their growth, and making it to the start line in a race is an accomplishment to be proud of and to build upon. 

In the twelve events Boardwalk RC successfully earned 3 golds, 1 silver and 2 bronze, plus 4 other top 10 finishes. 

In the 1200m Tyke Boys, Charlie Mills set an MTA Record of 4:07.80, beating the previous record by about 3 seconds.

Thomas Stewarts debut in the Atom boys 200m hurdles was an exciting race to say the least. At the 4th hurdle Thomas stumbled and fell slightly behind the leader. He regained his form and stormed over the last hurdle and towards the finish line in a photo finish time that resulted in a 1st place tie.

Fiona Pavlovska, an Atom girl who is a veteran of middle distances running races, finally decided to give the 800m Racewalk an attempt. She ran the 1500m in the morning finishing 8th in well contested field. She then waited all day for the last event, and felt fresh. Fiona is known for warming up at our practices with a bit of race walking and has developed a very speedy form that could challenge many runners! In the race she easily cruised to victory in 5:11.14. However, she informs us that it came at a price to her body, with new muscles feeling extremely sore from the effort. So for those that have never tried it, it's not easy.

Unfortunately, due to an entry error, Charlie Pilz was kept out of the fast section of the 400m. This meant he would have to run without the help of other fast runners to push him. He ran his heart out and finished in 1:09.00 for Bronze, despite being in the slower heat. One can only wonder what difference the fast heat would have made. He added a Silver medal in the 800m by running 2:37.34, while teammate Charlie Mills was chasing him and winning bronze in 2:39.68. 

Our youngest competitor was Mite Girl Chloe Pilz. Being born in 2008 means that Chloe has had to race girls older then her all season. And it's been helping her get faster. She is consistently under 1:30 for the 400m now, and should be looking to excel next year when she is on the older half of the Mite category. She ran 1:29.60 for 6th place at the Championship.

And finally welcome back to Dominic Temple (Atom Boy) who made sure to returned from a four week European holiday compete at this meet. He finished a very well raced 10th place in the 1500m.

Ultimately, we strive to do our best, and each race is a stepping stone to a greater performance. It was a great outdoor season, and now we switch our focus to a bit of rest and a build up to the cross country season.

Full results will be posted at minortrack.org soon.